EIGHT BBC journalists have accused the corporation of failing to accurately report on the Israel-Hamas conflict in a scathing letter.
In a 2300-word letter sent to Al Jazeera, the UK-based reporters said the BBC is guilty of “double standards in how civilians are seen” given it is “unflinching” in its reporting of alleged Russian war crimes in Ukraine.
The letter accuses the BBC of investing more effort in humanising Israeli victims compared with Palestinians, and omitting key historical context in coverage.
The group apparently does not plan to send the letter to BBC executives.
The letter reads: "The BBC has failed to accurately tell this story – through omission and lack of critical engagement with Israel’s claims – and it has therefore failed to help the public engage with and understand the human rights abuses unfolding in Gaza.
“Thousands of Palestinians have been killed since October 7. When will the number be high enough for our editorial stance to change?”
It comes after the BBC edited out multiple calls for a ceasefire in Gaza from the Scottish Bafta Awards ceremony on iPlayer.
Israel declared war against Hamas after the militant group attacked southern Israel on October 7, killing about 1200 Israelis and taking more than 200 hostage.
More than 14,500 Palestinians have been reported as killed by Israeli bombardment.
A four-day pause in fighting has been agreed this week, but has been delayed after being due to start on Thursday morning.
The BBC journalists said that across BBC platforms, terms like “massacre” and “atrocity”, have been reserved “only for Hamas, framing the group as the only instigator and perpetrator of violence in the region. This is inaccurate but aligns with the BBC’s overall coverage”.
The letter says the Hamas assault was "appalling" but "does not justify the indiscriminate killing of thousands of Palestinian civilians, and the BBC cannot be seen to support – or fail to interrogate – the logic that it does".
It goes on: "We are asking the BBC to better reflect and defer to the evidence-based findings of official and unbiased humanitarian organisations.”
The journalists said the broadcaster portrays Israeli suffering by telling audiences the names of victims, covering individual funerals, and interviewing affected families.
They said: “In comparison, humanising coverage of Palestinian civilians has been lacking. It is a poor excuse to say that the BBC could not better cover stories in Gaza because of difficulties gaining access to the [Gaza] Strip.
"This is achieved, for example, by telling and following individual stories across weeks. Little attempt has also been made to fully utilise the abundance of social media content from brave journalists in Gaza and the West Bank.”
They acknowledged “some strong isolated examples”, but said sensitively told stories about Palestinians were not “consistent”.
One of the co-writers of the letter told Al Jazeera "this organisation does not represent us".
“For me, and definitely for other people of colour, we can see blatantly that certain civilian lives are considered more worthy than others – that there is some sort of hierarchy at play," they said.
The letter also claims that the BBC is failing to provide audiences with important background about Israel’s occupation and the history of Palestinian suffering.
It said: “For Israel’s bombardment to be considered ‘self-defence’, events must begin with the Hamas-led attack.
“News updates and articles neglect to include a line or two of critical historical context – on 75 years of occupation, the Nakba, or the asymmetric death toll across decades.”
“The BBC has often called the ongoing conflict ‘complex’. It is no more complex than any other conflict.
“It is our job to cut through rhetoric and misinformation; to explain what is happening and what has led to this.”
The BBC has been approached for comment.
